IGNITION ON THE FRONT MOUNTED DISTRIBUTOR.If you think it may be electrical you should start with the ignition switch and go all the way through the distributor and coil one thing at the time. You can isolate the ignition switch by using a sewing pin to pierce through the two leads going to the ignition switch. Be careful not to let the pin make contact with anything metal while doing this. If this makes the trouble go away, replace the switch. Next is the ignition resistor. Do not try to bypass the resistor. To do so may fry the coil and points etc and just make more trouble. If you find that the ignition resistor has been bypassed then you can assume that the coil is shot. If you have a volt meter connect it at the little post on the coil and turn the engine until the points are closed and take a reading. It should read somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 or 4 volts. If it only reads 2 or less you should replace the resistor. Never bypass the resistor!
If you don’t have a volt meter, you can also take the wire off the coil post where the current enters from the resistor and strike the wire on something metal on the tractor and observe the spark. It should be easily seen. There is an insulator on the distributor plate where the condenser wire and the points spring are attached. It looks like a small piece of cardboard. This insulator is sometimes the culprit if it allows the current to go to ground because it is shorted to ground. Be especially careful to inspect this insulator for grounding. You could have a bad set of ignition points in the distributor and the only way to find out is to remove the distributor from the engine by removing the distributor cap and the wire coming to the coil from the resistor and then removing the two mounting bolts. If the points are not correctly set to the right opening measurement this could be the trouble. Especially if they are just barely opening. Set the points to .015. If the points are pitted or corroded at all replace them. If it has been a long time since the points have been replaced then replace them. Have a set on hand before you remove the distributor from the engine. Also replace the condenser. The condenser is not as likely as the points to be bad but now is the time to replace it. If after testing everything and replacing the points and condenser you still have the same problem it may be that the coil is breaking down when it heats up. The only way to fix this is to replace the coil.
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